Beer Fest Etiquette

So you’re all ready and set to head down to Tom McCall Waterfront Park to take in the exceptional Oregon Brewers Festival. You packed your sunscreen, water bottle and sunglasses. Check the wallet for enough cash (remember, OBF is cash only, with an ATM on site). You peruse the OBF Beer List and decide which beers you definitely need to hit up. You purchase your $7 tasting glass and tokens. Find the correct trailer for the beer you so desire.

You then give the friendly volunteer your token for a nice taster, tell them thank you and what to do next? Do you back away a mere two feet and block the lines for other festival goers? Or do you do the right thing and walk well far away from the sever table and grab a spot that will not impede others from quicker service?

Well from the photo above these two festival goers at last night’s Oregon Brewers Guild dinner did the incorrect thing. They only backed away a few feet and made it more difficult for those of us wanting another taster.

Do the right thing at OBF…..back away from the server tables after receiving your beer.

Now enjoy the greatest and largest beer festival in the Pacific Northwest.

About The Author

DJ

D.J. is a Portland, Oregon based writer that spent his formative years in the Midwest. With over 20 years under his belt of drinking beer at festivals across America and the world, he has developed a strong appreciation and understanding of craft beer and the industry that surrounds it. He can be found in any of the great breweries or beer bars that make Portland the best beer city in the world. His writing can also be found in Northwest Brewing News and can be followed on Twitter at @hopapalooza.

I thought this would be a more comprehensive list of etiquette, though this is a great starting point. I stopped attending this festival due to the fact that it’s over-crowded, lines are too long (thanks to dummies like the guys above), I’m sick of getting stuck behind double-wide strollers and women with real live babies in their baby bjorns (and double-fisting beer mugs), and finally, the fact that last year some douche tried to tell my husband and I we could not sit at an empty 12-seat table because “all of his friends were in line getting food and would be there shortly.” -_- For the record, I kept my ass firmly planted.